Twelve years after the synchronised al-Qaeda attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and other targets in the United States, and the subsequent U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, Western nations are now drawing down their forces in anticipation of a complete withdrawal in 2014. As Australia has been involved in military operations for the entire period, it was appropriate that the Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, and Opposition leader, Bill Shorten, should travel to Afghanistan, to thank the 1…
